My Destiny
by HaveAHeart0301
Summary: No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get that Crimean noble off his mind. Lucia/Soren, one-shot.


**My Destiny**

_A/N: I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd work on a one-shot meguin the penguin requested. Anyway, this is what I came up with after listening to hours of a Jim Brickman cd (hence the title). And…To Build a Fire by Jack London (though it's kind of the opposite)! Even though I really disliked that story…possibly just because of how he treated the dog, but still…_

_Well, now that that's over with, on with the story! :)_

_--_

The dark-haired mage sighed as he scooped a spider up off his pillow. _Another one of Boyd's insane pranks… _He opened his window and dropped the creature out. Normally he would have just crushed it and ended its precious life, but not now. Not after meeting her…

He recalled that day in the war room, right before they entered the Tower of Guidance and decided their fate. As they and General Ike were discussing possible tactics, a little black spider ran across the table. She'd screamed so loudly, he wouldn't have been surprised if the whole camp had swarmed inside the tent.

He'd raised his hand to smash the thing when she grabbed a hold of his wrist, a pleading look in her azure eyes--the one he could see anyway. He put his hand back at his side, curious as to what she was planning.

Naturally, he was surprised when she picked the spider up in her palm and put it gently outside the tent.

He chuckled to himself. She was terrified of the thing, yet she would let no one harm it. That girl was full of mysteries, but he guessed that's what he'd always liked about her.

Deciding to take a short walk before nightfall hit, the man pulled on a heavy white robe and grabbed his Bolganone tome. After all, not only would fire be useful for setting aflame any enemies that stood in his path--or Boyd for that matter, but it could come in handy if he needed to build a fire.

He ignored all the other mercenaries he passed as he walked towards the exit. However, when Boyd saw him, the warrior jumped up and blocked the door.

"Hey, Soren! Where ya goin'? Perhaps to walk off a little scare?" the grass-haired mercenary chuckled.

"Boyd, I don't have time for you or your childish games. Move out of my way," he stated bluntly.

"Hahaha! You haven't changed one bit, have you?"

"If that's what you want to think…"

The truth was that Boyd hadn't changed--just ask anyone, especially his brothers. He was the same jerk he'd always been. He remained grinning in that doorway, thoroughly annoying Soren.

"Boyd, why don't you just…"

He bit back the urge to insult the man, hoping not to say something to make the reaver angry. Wait, since when did he care about _that_?

"Boyd, move out of my way… Please."

"Oh ho ho! Soren saying please? This is something new! Hahaha!"

Soren pulled out and opened his tome. The other man's eyes widened and he backed off.

"Thank you."

The sage walked off, completely lost in his own thoughts and not really caring whether or not Boyd was laughing at him again.

He began walking aimlessly in a northeastern direction. As he was no longer paying attention, he stumbled and nearly tripped numerous times, once almost falling into the frozen river along his path.

He just needed some time to think; to clear his head. But no matter what he thought of, his thoughts always drifted back to her…why couldn't he get the daughter of Crimea's Count Delbray out of his mind? Sure it was possible that she shared his feelings, but he couldn't take that risk. He couldn't imagine his life without her…how dull and meaningless it would all be. He didn't know what he'd do if she was ever hurt; he just couldn't bear it.

He suddenly snapped out of his daze and back into reality and noticed exactly where he was. He was standing in a snow-covered forest. Strange…there weren't any trees of this sort anywhere near the mercenary base. In fact, about the only time he'd seen so many of these in one place was during the Mad King's War. Where exactly had they been at that time? And wait…when had it begun to snow? Just exactly how long had he been walking?

He decided not to press the matter, but instead to keep walking. Maybe once he made it out of these trees he'd be able to tell exactly where he was. Then he might be able to make it back to the camp.

Hearing a noise in back of him, the mage spun around. Seeing nothing there, he assumed, or rather hoped, it was just an animal of some sort. However, when he turned back around, he faced a sour-looking man. A large scar ran down his face and neck. His dirt-brown hair was oily and ragged. He wore dirty white armor that bore a Crimean seal surrounded by a circle of sorts.

Soren recognized that demon immediately. _Ludveck._ The rebel leader who had ordered the execution of his beloved Lucia. That scum didn't even deserve to be breathing. What was _he _doing _here_?

The man grinned. "Ahh, Master Soren, I thought you were brighter than to walk into a forest alone. Especially this close to Felirae and Delbray. Whatever could you have on your mind?"

He chuckled and signaled for his men to come out from their hiding places. From what Soren could tell, there were about thirty men. He knew Ludveck had gathered more men than this. Were on Tellius could they be?

"Ludveck, what do you want?"

"Something that's already been granted to me. Since my exile, forever have I wished to obtain another territory to rule. I've just sent the majority of my army to capture Delbray.

As you may have heard, the Count passed recently. Rule was given to his eldest daughter, but even she is too young and weak to defeat my forces. She's just like Queen Elincia, but there's no one to blame but the foolish man who raised them, correct?

But have no fear, my troops have been ordered to cause her no harm. Instead, they will bring her back here safely, and she will become my bride. Together we will rule Delbray until we capture Melior and take control of all of Crimea. She will be my queen, and I her king."

"Ludveck, that's a far-fetched dream, isn't it? How exactly do you plan to get her to agree to this?"

"Heh. That's where you come in, my friend. The lady's too weak to ignore the death of a hostage. It's one of her faults, you know."

Soren was disgusted. They were going to try to use his life to negotiate with her! He knew Lucia wasn't as weak as Ludveck or his men seemed to believe. She would make the right decision; she had to.

He noticed one of Ludveck's men moving closer to him. Before the man could come within a few feet of him, Soren grabbed his Bolganone tome. When he raised his hand and cast the spell, the man fell, covered in flames. Tree branches immediately began crackling and falling from all directions.

Ludveck and his men quickly scrambled out of the forest, but as Soren tried to make his way out of there, a rather large branch fell on the bottom of his cape, tripping him. He fell to the ground and hit his head, knocking him unconscious.

Why had he used a _fire_ tome in a _forest_?

--

The mage awoke to someone licking his face. What? He opened his eyes and realized the giver of these 'kisses' was a _dog_. Once he'd awoken, the Boxer trotted off. Now he was really confused. Had he dreamt all that? Wait, that still didn't explain why that _dog_ was here. He rubbed his eyes and examined the room more carefully. Next to him a black _cat_ was curled up in a ball, sleeping. The room was rather large; a clear indication that this wasn't a room in the mercenaries' base camp. The walls were a shade of purple, as was the blanket he slept under. What was going on here?

He heard a slight rap at the door, then it was opened. Soren decided to close his eyes again, hoping to get some idea of what was going on before he had to deal with whomever was at the door.

He heard the soft voice of a woman as someone walked closer to the bed in which he slept.

"Syesha! I told you to stay out of here!"

That voice…it couldn't be…

He could tell that she was now reaching over him to pick the cat, 'Syesha', up. The feline protested loudly as she did so.

"Be quiet…you're going to wake Master Soren."

She walked over to the door and put the cat out. He heard the door click behind her.

The woman walked back over to the bed and sat down softly next to him. He heard something jump in the chair next to the bed, but he was unsure of what it was. He then felt the back of a soft hand stroke his cheek. Soren opened his eyes and she gasped and pulled her hand back.

"M-Master Soren! I didn't mean to wake you…"

He met with her deep blue orbs, seeing both shock and fear. He looked at her and took in every change. Her hair was pinned up and her old white vestment hand been exchanged for a fitting white dress. A lavender cape was draped around her shoulders. Her new look was complemented by violet earrings, a violet necklace, and golden bracelets.

A pure white Husky sat in the chair next to him. Isobel, if he remembered correctly. Lady Delbray's ever-constant companion.

He looked back towards the dog's owner. The last time he'd seen her, she was beautiful, but now she was so…stunning.

Remembering what had just happened, Soren took her hand in his.

"N-no, Milady. You didn't wake me. The boxer, she…"

She chuckled slightly.

"_He_ didn't wake you, did he?"

"Well, actually…"

"Oh no! Master Soren, I'm so sorry! I--"

"Milady, don't worry yourself. I should have been up a while ago. I'm just glad to see you… Safe, that is."

"Safe?"

"Yes, I was afraid Ludveck's men would have harmed you…"

"Ha! Those foolish rebels. We'd heard of them coming long before any of this happened. I sent Geoffrey and his knights to rid of them before they even made it here. My brother says they were so incompetent that Makalov alone could have easily squashed them."

He smiled. Ludveck was wrong…she was in every way an amazing and wonderful Countess. He noticed her frown slightly at his happiness.

"Soren…after my brother defeated the rebels and recaptured Ludveck, he saw the forest in flames. Ludveck told him that you were in there, likely to be dead. My brother sent Marcia here to inform me while he attempted to save you.

"You have no idea how worried I was. I didn't know what I would do if I lost you."

He thought he could see a tear form in the corner of her eye.

"When my brother returned with you, it seemed that your only injuries were a bump to the head and a few cuts here and there. Aside from that and your robe being completely burnt, you were unharmed. I-I was…so relived. Soren, I wouldn't have been able to live without you…"

He pulled her closer to him and she began sobbing into his shirt. He kissed the Countess's forehead and hugged her tighter.

"Lucia, please don't cry. I'm not leaving you…not for a long time."

--

_A/N: Tada! Well, I hope you enjoyed that. It's not the best, but it's probably not the worst either. Also, I don't have any clue whether there's a forest near Felirae and Delbray, and there's probably not a river close enough either, but I didn't have a map in front of me. And I found it funny how Ludveck tried to use the same strategy he tried with Elincia, but that's probably just me._


End file.
